Charlotte (Charlie to her friends) Guest is following a family tradition. Her father, Edward, skied for Scotland’s junior team and it was her Granny who prompted her to take her first slippery slides on Scottish slopes. 

Now, at the age of 15, Charlie is ready to test her skills at the highest level when she skis for Great Britain at this month’s (February) European Youth Olympic Winter Festival at Slask-Beskidy in Poland 

One of five Scots in the eight-strong British team - Joe Morrison, Alistair Strang, Alexandra Tilley and Christy McKinnon are the others – Charlie is bursting with pride and expectation at the prospect of taking on the Scandinavians in a Festival that will be screened live on TV on Eurosport from 15-20 February.

“I am so excited,” she told In The Winning Zone during a short break from cramming in preparation for her school prelims. “It’s going to be by far the biggest event that I’ve ever taken part in, and it’s going to be a wonderful experience.”

Charlie was an early starter in her chosen sport. “My Granny lives in Nethybridge and she put me on a pair of skis when I was three years old and sent me out onto the local golf course,” she explained. “I just loved it from the start.

“By the time I was six I was taking part in Scottish race training with the Scottish Ski School.  Skiing was in the family, and I think it was a sport that really lit the light on my competitive spirit.”

A bubbly youngster, Charlie lives on the outskirts of Perth and attends Dundee High School. This year, she is taking her Standard Grade exams which could present a temporary road block to her skiing opportunities.

“I’m going to be doing five Highers next year and it is going to be a busy period at school for the next 18 months or so,” she conceded. “At the moment, I’m on study leave and just about to sit my prelims for my eight Standard Grades. 

“But I’m very lucky. Everyone at school is very supportive and I get time off to go away on skiing trips whenever necessary. I’ve been to the US, and to Quebec in Canada.”

A keen hockey player at school, Charlie also uses cycling as a means to keeping up her fitness levels. But her serious sporting ambitions are confined to the slopes of the world’s most famous winter sports arenas. 

“Skiing is really all I’ve ever wanted to do,” she continued. “Hopefully, once my school exams are out of the way then I’ll be able to pursue the sport even more. My long term goals are to ski in the World Cup and in Winter Olympics.”

At present, she favours the technical events – slalom and giant slalom – and is relishing the chance to test her skills against Europe’s best 15 and 16 year-olds on Polish slopes. “I’ve no idea how high the standard is going to be this month, but I’m aiming at least a top 30 finish. I think that would be good. 

“It’s really great that there are five Scots in the team this time. We are all extremely competitive but also great friends. It’s a good rivalry and spurs us all on.”

Ross Gardner, Scotland’s National Performance Manager, will be accompanying the team to Slask-Beskidy. “The event takes place every two years and it’s a long time since Scotland had such a strong input,” he pointed out. “They all qualified at an event in Switzerland in November – there was a lot of pressure because it was the best eight skiers over six runs.

“Now I’m just looking forward to seeing how they all get on against some of the best youngsters in the world.”

EB
© Copyright In The Winning Zone, MMIX, All Rights Reserved